A Wild Week in UK Politics; an election, a scandal, and a downfall

This has been a week that typifies the idea that a week can be a long time in politics, and it's not even over.

The further fragmentation of the left this week was yet another gut punch for the left in the UK at a time when the far-right continue to rise, including intermittent violent protests. Meanwhile the deputy prime minister has been forced to resign amidst a scandal.

Here's a brief diary of events.

Monday, September 1st

Far-right activism continues to increase

Continued tensions as far-right activitists, including Tommy Robinson, promote 'peaceful protests' with the far-right flying the Saint George's cross, -the English flag- from everywhere possible.

Hyphen reports crosses appearing on Liverpool mini-roundabouts; Cornwall war-memorial defaced the same day.

Green shock-wave

Zack Polanski elected Green Party leader with a massive majority and immediately torches any talk of a progressive pact:

“My message to Labour is very clear: we are not here to be disappointed by you… We are here to replace you.”

In first-past-the-post Britain, another fracture on the left looks like a gift to the far-right Reform UK and the Tories. This compounds the fissure opened up by Jeremy Corbyn's break away party over the past few months.

Polanski -- appearing on numerous television shows with the message that he wants to be the Farage of the left-- is young, charismatic, and appears to have a gift for reading the room politically. He is likely a greater threat to Labour than Corbyn.

Tuesday, September 2nd

Bell Hotel, Epping

A 60-second phone clip that went viral on X shows a “local lad” calmly telling an independent videographer that he lives nearby and has “never had a problem” with the asylum-seekers in the hotel. Within seconds, flag-waving far-right protesters swarm him, shouting “paedo lover!” and chasing both interviewer and interviewee up Epping High Street. The footage—tweeted by @I_amMukhtar—was rapidly shared by national commentators as proof of far-right intimidation. Essex Police later confirmed three arrests for racially-aggravated public-order offences.

Wednesday, September 3rd

Farage on the Hill

Nigel Farage skips PMQs (Prime Minister's question-time) to testify before a U.S. House Judiciary hearing (the Senate’s had not invited him). He denounces Britain’s Online Safety Act as an “awful authoritarian” assault on free speech, only to be branded a “Putin-loving free-speech impostor” by Democrat Jamie Raskin.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer makes an astute speech, highlighting Farage's absence and lack of interest in his constituents.

Thursday, September 4th

The Rayner storm brews

Leaks confirm Deputy PM Angela Rayner under-paid £40 k stamp duty (a tax on house purchases) on her Hove flat. Tory tabloids hammer the “working-class heroine” for hypocrisy; Labour MPs mutter about self-inflicted wounds.

The concern was justified. In opposition, Rayner had regularly touted the line "one rule for them but another rule for us," in highlighting the arrogance of the Tory party when in power. Now she was guilty of that which she asserted she despised.

Rayner was positioned as a politician of the people, who, as a single mother in her teens, managed to work hard and get into politics whilst being from a working class background.

Far-right activities increase

Meanwhile France 24 describes a “flag frenzy” tied to immigration rows; Derby Telegraph covers another war-memorial vandalism. Far-right activists continue to paint the St. George's Cross over walls, roads, and fly the flag from every post possible.

Friday, September 5th

The resignation

Rayner falls on her sword: “I take full responsibility for this error.”

Within hours, Keir Starmer triggers a sweeping reshuffle:

David Lammy becomes Deputy PM & Justice Secretary.

Speculation: Lammy’s warm rapport with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance (“a friend,” Lammy recently told reporters) gives Starmer a channel to Trump’s White House. Rayner's connection with the working class was useful though Lammy is closer to Starmer politically and may aid Starmers practice of acting as the Trump Whisperer.

Yvette Cooper shifts to Foreign Secretary after having been Home Secretary known for taking a hardline on migration to out-maneuver Reform UK. This strategy had had little success.

Shabana Mahmood takes over the Home Office.

A long-time Labour Friends of Palestine member, Mahmood backs early recognition of a Palestinian state something she has been outspoken about for at least a decade. This is a notable change from her predecessor. However, her politics generally put her to the right of the Labour party having been staunchly against Jeremy Corbyn when he was Labour leader, including supporting a vote of no confidence in him in 2017. This suggests overall a further rightward movement of the Labour leadership.

Nevertheless, her first brief is the Channel-crossings crisis. Allies insist she’ll keep the tough stance; critics wonder how that squares with her human-rights record. The question of whether Labour continues to panda to far-right rhetoric on migration. Under Yvette Cooper the stance had been one of being tough on illegal migration with little mention of the positives of migration as a whole, or the plight of refugees seeking asylum.

This strategy appears to have done little to prevent far-right protests, often aggressive, from tainting cities across the UK, despite the fact that illegal channel crossings at at a four-year low. The brewing culture war appears not to be one over facts but over ideology.

To many, Prime Minster Starmer's response to far-right activism has been seen as meek, lacking recognition of the gravity of the growth of the far-right as a destructive force in UK politics and society alike.

Bibliography

1. Walker, Peter. “New Green Leader Polanski Distances Party from Electoral Pact with Corbyn.” The Guardian, 3 Sept 2025. The Guardian
2. Piper, Elizabeth, Alistair Smout & Patricia Zengerle. “Farage, in Washington, Takes Aim at UK Government over Free Speech.” Reuters, 3 Sept 2025. Reuters
3. Sparrow, Andrew. “Farage a ‘Putin-Loving, Free-Speech Impostor’ Says Democrat – UK Politics Live.” The Guardian, 3 Sept 2025. The Guardian
4. “‘I Take Full Responsibility’: Angela Rayner’s Resignation Letter in Full.” The Guardian, 5 Sept 2025. The Guardian
5. Badshah, Nadeem, Tom Ambrose & Amy Sedghi. “Lammy Made Deputy PM with Cooper as Foreign Secretary and Mahmood at Home Office – As It Happened.” The Guardian, 5 Sept 2025. The Guardian
6. Courea, Eleni. “US and UK Disagree about Gaza Policy, Vance Suggests before Lammy Meeting.” The Guardian, 8 Aug 2025. The Guardian
7. Courea, Eleni. “Shabana Mahmood: Justice Secretary and Rising Star of the Labour Party.” The Guardian, 16 Aug 2025. The Guardian
8. Eaton, George. “Will the UK Recognise Palestine?” New Statesman, 24 July 2025. New Statesman
9. “Why Are St George’s Flags Being Put Up and Roundabouts Painted – and Why Is It Controversial?” The Independent, 19 Aug 2025. The Independent
10. Demony, Catarina & Vitalii Yalahuzian. “England Flags Spark Pride and Concern amid Anti-Immigration Protests.” Reuters, 27 Aug 2025. Reuters
11. Onsori, Zahra & Saman Javed. “Mosques around UK Tighten Security as Anti-Migrant Protests Continue.” Hyphen, 28 Aug 2025. Hyphen
12. Foster, Thomas. “The Far-Right Figures behind National Flags Campaign.” Socialist Worker, 21 Aug 2025. socialistworker.co.uk
13. @I_amMukhtar. “A local lad came out to give his opinion to the media …” Video tweet. X (formerly Twitter), 2 Sept 2025. Embedded in: John Plunkett, “This man dared disagree with asylum-hotel protestors…” The Poke, 3 Sept 2025.
14. Essex Police. “Epping: Dispersal order after anti-social behaviour,” updated 5 Sept 2025 (section ‘Tuesday 2 September’). essex.police.uk
15. ITV News. “Police continue investigations after asylum-seeker hotel protests,” 4 Sept 2025. ITVX